Islamic ministers praise Kuwaiti moderation experience - official Religion

By Abdulrazzaq Al-Hezami

JEDDAH, May 26 (KUNA) -- A number of ministers of Awqaf (endowment) and Islamic Affairs in Muslim world praised the Kuwait experience in the field of moderation, said a Kuwaiti official here Tuesday.
Kuwaiti Undersecretary of the Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Ministry Dr. Aadil Al-Falah told KUNA, on the sidelines of the 8th conference of ministers of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in the Muslim world that kicked off here Saturday, that the Kuwaiti initiative of forming a higher moderation committee and establishing the International Moderation Centre was hailed by several ministers.
The ministers included Egyptian Awqaf Minister Dr. Mahmoud Zaqzouq, Brunei's Religious Affairs Minister Dr. Mohammad Zain bin Serudin, and Afghanistan's Acting Hajj and Islamic Affairs Minister Mohammad Sediq Chakari, he said.
Al-Falah pointed out that the ministers taking part in the conference approved a number of Kuwaiti papers, one of which discussed moderation, and that Sudanese Religious Affairs and Waqf Minister Azhari Al-Tigani called for implementing the successful Kuwaiti experience in all Islamic countries.
After the success of the Kuwaiti experience, several countries, like Algeria, Afghanistan, Guinea, Niger, Iraq, and Syria, established similar moderation centers, he noted.
The main pillars for moderation are dealing with extremism, responding to intellect with intellect, refuting the suspicions of terrorists, using scientific research and fields studies, and searching for the problem's causes, he stressed.
On the sidelines of the three-day conference, sponsored by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, Al-Falah and his accompanying delegation met with Saudi Islamic Affairs, Endowment, Call, and Guidance Minister and head of the conference Salih Al-Shaykh and discussed with him cooperation between Kuwait and the kingdom regarding endowment and Islamic issues.
Al-Falah also met the Mufti (religious cleric) of Azerbaijan and several Islamic ministers and figures. (end) ay.ris KUNA 261354 May 09NNNN

Damascus Declaration Expresses Islamic States' Aspirations and a Result of Successful Conference

Damascus,(SANA)- Assistant Secretary General of Civil Organizations in the Islamic World Mohammad Naeem Aqbeek said on Tuesday that Damascus Declaration, approved by the Foreign Ministers Council of the Organization of Islamic Conference in its 36th session, asserted that there is a qualitative leap in the Organization's work and expressed the Islamic states aspirations.

In a statement, Aqbeek pointed out that Damascus Declaration was comprehensive and discussed all the causes that concern the Islamic states, particularly the Palestinian cause.

Aqbeek added that the Syrian policy has been adopting all Arab causes and don't give up any Arab right, asserting that the conference success was a sign of Syria's credibility.

He underlined that Damascus Declaration stressed that there was solidarity among all the Islamic states and peoples, considering the cause of Jerusalem as their main cause and that it is exposed to the process of judaization and settlement.

Aqbeek added that we need a practical plan to support Jerusalem's people, clarifying that Israel pays no heed to international law and tries to impose the status quo policy.

The Beliefs and Laws of Islam - WVXEEA75WMRF

Origins Islam is the religion of allegiance to God and his prophet Mohammed, who lived around 570-632 and came from a family of traders at Mecca. The religion's book of revelation, mediated by the prophet, is the Koran. The word Islam derives from the same semitic root as the Hebrew word Shalom, which means peace. Islam means "entering into a condition of peace and security with God, through allegiance or surrender to him".

Mohammed is said to have received his revelations over a period of 23 years from the Angel Jibreel, or Gabriel, who was relaying the word of God.
It was not a completely new faith but is the third great monotheistic religion. In Muslim eyes, Mohammed completes a succession of prophets, including Abraham, Moses and Jesus, each of whom refined and restated the message of God.

The Koran therefore corroborates, updates and expands the Old and New Testaments.

It contains 114 chapters, written in vivid, rhyming prose, and was settled in its current form within 30 years of Mohammed's death.

Main tenets Central to Islam is the absolute sense that there can only be one God - Allah - and that he is the source of all creation and disposer of all lives and events. Hence, there is no God but God and Mohammed is his messenger.

All people should become a single Umma - community - witnessing to that fact. On the day of judgment, all will rise from the dead and be sent to heaven or hell.

The Koran contains many moral exhortations, forming the basis of Islamic (sharia) law. It lays down generosity and fairness and the requirements for daily prayer, alms giving, abstinence during daylight hours in the month of Ramadan and pilgrimage to Mecca.

The five pillars of the Islamic faith - the fundamental constituents of Muslim life - are: · Shahada, the profession of faith in the uniqueness of Allah and the centrality of Mohammed as his prophet · Salat, formal worship or prayer · Zakat, the giving of alms for the poor, assessed on all adult Muslims as 2.5% of capital assets once a year · Hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca, which every Muslim should undertake at least once in their lifetime; the annual hajj takes place during the last 10 days of the 12th lunar month every year · Sawm, fasting during Ramadan, the holy ninth month of the lunar year.

Early history In 622, Mohammed travelled from Mecca to Medina in the hijrah (emigration) - this forms the starting point in the Muslim dating system.

After the prophet's death his community split into followers of the caliph Abu Bakr and those who supported Mohammed's closest relative, his son-in-law, Ali ibn Abi Talib.

This division between Shia (followers of Ali) and Sunni (followers of the custom of the caliphate) persists to this day. Although both share most of the customs of the religion, Shiites place more emphasis on the guiding role of the imam.

About 90% of the world's Muslims are Sunni and about 10% Shia.

Sharia The divine law of Islam by which Muslims should live their lives.

It embraces every aspect of life, including family relations, inheritance, taxation, purification and prayer and observes no distinction between secular and religious law.

How far modern Islamic states follow this principle depends on the degree of secularisation they permit. It is essentially laid down by the Koran but has been updated and extended by fatwa (legal opinion), consensus and custom.
Reference by:http://www.islamfortoday.com/beliefs01.htm

Brain Lara Has Accepted Islam

Great news,
King of cricket Brain Lara of West Indies has accepted Islam.Saeed Anwar and Junaid jamshed had preached him.Now Brain Lara is Muslim.What is his Muslim, it still not confirm.Special congratulates for Saeed Anwar and Junaid jamshed.The great news for all Muslims.

President may visit Russia in June: Qashqavi

Tehran, May 25, IRNA – Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi announced on Monday that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is probably to visit Russia in June.
He added that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has invited his Iranian counterpart to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit to be held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on June 15-16.
Russia, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are the SCO member states while Iran, India and Mongolia are the observer countries.
On the recent remarks made by Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu on settlement of the existing dispute between Iran and the UAE on the three Persian Gulf islands through his organization, Qashqavi said the dispute is only on the island of Abu Musa and not the three islands.
“The issue can be settled by the two sides and there is no need for involvement of any other country or organization,” the spokesman reiterated.
Criticizing the continued siege of the Gaza Strip by the Zionist regime, he regretted the inaction of regional states towards the issue.
Gaza is a prison with 1.5 million inmates established through West’s support for the Zionist regime, he said, expressing concern over the critical condition of the oppressed people in the city.
Underlining the need for efforts by human rights organizations to help resolve the issue, Qashqavi stressed that cooperation between the Islamic Republic and Muslim countries would help lift the siege on the city.

Ahmadinejad invites US president to debate at UN

Tehran, May 25, IRNA -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday invited US President Barack Obama for a debate at the UN Headquarters in New York.

Speaking to foreign reporters in Tehran, he recalled that the Islamic Republic of Iran had earlier invited the US president for debate on global peace and security at UN General Assembly.
"If I am reelected in the upcoming presidential elections in Iran, I would like to renew the invitation to President Obama for debate on global issues, as well as world peace and security," said President Ahmadinejad.

BBC...Middlie east - 20/09/08

rchbishop Desmond Tutu has delivered a scathing report to the UN Human Rights Commission on Israel's shelling of Beit Hanoun in Gaza in 2006.
The report, leaked on Monday, says the shelling may have been a war crime.
It criticises an Israeli inquiry that concluded that the shelling was due to a flawed artillery system.
The Archbishop also criticised the international community for "failing to fulfil its role in respect of the suffering of the people of Gaza".
"It is the silence of the international community in the face of what is happening there which most offends. This silence begets complicity," he said.
The right to life has been violated not just through the killings, but also through the lack of an adequate investigation of the killings
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
He expanded on this in comments to journalists.
"I think the West, quite rightly, is feeling contrite, penitent for its awful connivance with the Holocaust," Archbishop Tutu said.
"The West is penitent, the penance is being paid by the Palestinians."
Nineteen Palestinian civilians were killed in the shelling.
The Israeli military was at the time trying to prevent rocket attacks by Palestinian militants.
'Report inappropriate'
Archbishop Tutu's report said that the "Israeli response of a largely secret internal military investigation is absolutely unacceptable from both legal and moral points of view".
The mission appears to have legitimised the iron fisted control of the Hamas terrorist organisation holds over the Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip
Aharon Leshno-Yaar
Israeli ambassador
"In the absence of a well-founded explanation from the Israeli military - who is in sole possession of the relevant facts - the mission must conclude that there is a possibility that the shelling of Beit Hanoun constituted a war crime," his report said.
The Israeli delegate at the Human Rights Council, Aharon Leshno-Yaar, rejected the conclusions of the inquiry.
"The mission appears to have legitimised the iron-fisted control of the Hamas terrorist organisation over the Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. It is not clear to me whether such action is appropriate by a representative from the Quartet," he said.

International justice

The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Mohammad Abu-Koash, said: "The Israeli shelling of civilians in Beit Hanoun, while asleep in their homes, and targeting those fleeing, is a war crime, and it's perpetrators must be brought before international justice."
Archbishop Tutu appealed to the UN Human Rights Council to show the same concern for protecting Israelis from Palestinian attacks as it does for Palestinian suffering under Israeli occupation.
The council has been widely criticised for its frequent and heavy criticism of Israel while appearing to soft-pedal on human rights violations elsewhere in the world.
He said Hamas also had an obligation under international law to stop the firing of rockets into Israel.

European Muslim women: against all odds

Growing majority of women in Europe - socially, economically, ethnically diverse - are countering discrimination.
In April, US President Barack Obama appointed a Muslim woman who wears the hijab (headscarf) to his White House Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The move has become a hot topic in Europe, where it has generated both questions and hope over whether European Muslim women could experience greater political participation.

Of the 20 million Muslims in Europe, 12 million are women. These Muslim women are socially, economically, ethnically and politically diverse, yet all are prone to growing multi-layered discrimination which portrays them as ethnic minorities, disenfranchised women, or even “potentially radical” threats. Muslim women in Europe are often stereotyped as victims of forced marriage, domestic violence and honour killings.
Reference by:http://news.xinhuanet.com/english

However, a growing majority of these women – especially those raised in Europe – are now talking about freedom and faith, equal rights and diversity, and countering discrimination that arises from within both Muslim and non-Muslim communities.


For example, women have now begun asking for equal space in mosques and access to the same religious training that men receive. In fact, the majority of students at the Institutes of Islamic Studies – which emerged in major cities throughout Europe in the last decade – are now women who are seeking knowledge of their religious rights in order to defend their status in their own Muslim communities.

As a result, Muslim women are beginning to find solutions to the issues affecting them inside the community. Last year, a group of young Muslim associations launched the “Joining Hands Against Forced Marriages” programme in cities throughout Europe, including Brussels, Paris, Madrid, London, Berlin, Bologna and Rotterdam. Seeking to create dialogue on the issue, these groups brought together imams, parents, children and municipal officials to explain to both Muslim and non-Muslim communities alike that Islam forbids practices like this.

At the same time, Muslim women also suffer discrimination resulting from societal misunderstanding outside their communities – in schools, social and healthcare centres, political parties and housing agencies. For example, institutional discourses defining the headscarf as a sign of oppression against women have resulted in women being criticised for wearing it in the public spaces because they are seen as acquiescing to male oppression.

If discrimination has led some women to withdraw from society, the majority are trying to establish a place for themselves by investing in new channels: media and the private sector. Magazines like the British Emel or the French MWM are offering an alternative vision of Muslim women by targeting a readership that goes beyond Muslim communities. Creating their own Islamic fashion or bio-cosmetics companies is also a way European Muslim women are escaping job market discrimination.

In Denmark, Muslim women are overcoming hurdles with the help of the government and the larger public. Following the 2005 cartoons controversy, Danish society has witnessed the rise of female Muslim politicians, a television newscaster and even a national soccer player – surprisingly, all of whom wear the hijab. It is through positive models of identification like these that Muslim women today are building self-confidence.


Discrimination experienced by European Muslim women should be tackled using a multi-dimensional approach which includes building knowledge of their rights, increasing involvement in media and public institutions, and developing partnerships between Muslims and non-Muslims, and between men and women.
The way Muslim women are taking advantage of their European environment to stand up for their rights reveals that feminist, religious and ethnic identities are changing. With their demands for equal rights and equal access to the public sphere, they are confronting European policymakers with the need to adapt their strategies in an atmosphere that is rapidly expanding in terms of its diversity.
Policymakers need to shift they way they see these women – from immigrants with anti-European values who need to be “integrated”, to the active residents and citizens that they already are: women who want to feel secure, work, get an education and be visible. Discrimination against Muslim women – whether it emerges in the Muslim communities in which they are raised, or the larger public – should become an issue of common interest in the development of a more cohesive Europe.

Two Islamic Jihad militants killed in S Gaza

GAZA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Two Palestinian militants, members of the Islamic Jihad (Holy War) armed wing, were killed by Israeli soldiers on Friday southeast of Rafah town in southern Gaza Strip.
The Islamic Jihad said in a statement that two of its militants were killed when they were trying to attack an Israeli army force near the fence of a border crossing. No injuries were reported among the Israelis.
In the statement, the Islamic Jihad mourned the death of its two militants and also vowed to "revenge their death."
Israeli radio reported early on Friday that Israeli soldiers stationed near Kerem Shalom Crossing, east of Rafah, shot dead two militants who were planting roadside bombs near the fence of the borders between east Rafah and Israel.
Meanwhile, Hamas security sources in Gaza said the Israeli side informed the Gaza emergency and ambulance services of the death of the two militants.
Gaza emergency chief Mo'aweya Hassanein told reporters that Palestinian ambulances brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City the bodies of two Palestinians who were shot dead by Israeli gunfire southeast Gaza Strip.
The two militants were identified as Yassin Jasser, 23 and Abdel Majid Salleh, 22, both of whom are from Gaza, he said.
Reference by:http://news.xinhuanet.com/english

Islamic Idol: Music spreading message of faith

Cairo: Flames burst from the stage for a grand entrance, and fake fog swirls around a young man in a white robe.
He clutches the microphone, gazes seriously into the camera and then, accompanied only by drums, he sings.
"I accept Allah as my God, His religion as my religion, and His Messenger as my Messenger," he intones, as the audience, divided into men's and women's sections, claps along with the rhythm.
The singer is a contestant on a new Islamic version of "American Idol," launched to find and promote talent for the Arab world's first Islamic pop music video channel.
The satellite station, 4shbab, Arabic for "For the Youth", is the brainchild of an Egyptian media worker, Ahmad Abu Heiba, who says his mission is to spread the message that observant Muslims can also be modern and in touch with today's world.
"We have failed to deliver this message," Abu Heiba said. "What I am trying to do is to use the universal language of music to show what Islam looks like."
The channel, which was launched in February and can be seen across the Arab world, is a bid to capitalise on a generation of young Muslims who have become more observant but are also raised on Western pop influences.
But it is hard to hit the right balance between conservative and liberal.
So what does Islam look like on 4shbab? There's rock and hip-hop from American and British Muslim bands, singing about the struggles of keeping up with daily prayers or dressing modestly.

The Arab singers tend toward a more romantic pop style: young men with smouldering eyes and flowing shirts sing in the rain about leading a virtuous life, going to mosque and supporting their families, from helping their sisters with homework to taking out the garbage.
Abu Heiba said 4shbab is an antidote to the "lewd" music videos that mainstream channels show.
"We give our kids the shadow of holiness because this is basic in our culture and religion," said Abu Heiba. "But when our kids are exposed to this (un-Islamic) media, it is totally different, they don't feel like they belong to this culture anymore ... their passions are divided."
For the past two months, listeners called in to 4shbab to sing a song on the air, and a panel of experts judged them.
The 12 best, from around the Arab world, won the chance to compete in the finals in front of a live audience of about 300 people in an open air theater at Cairo's historic Citadel.
Reference by:http://www.gulfnews.com/region

A.Q Khan for religious education to students

ATTOCK: Renowned nuclear scientist, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan has called upon the government to impart religious education to students throughout the country especially FATA along with English and Mathematics.
"Due to poor education system, children are creating law and order situation in the country after falling into the hands of terrorists", he said while addressing a ceremony held at Tameer-e-Millat School in Dhok Haji here on Tuesday.
Dr. Qadeer said that he was a poor man and reached to this position after long struggle and efforts, adding, he made Pakistan a nuclear power and served the government of Pakistan by working sincerely.
"I did the work which I could never think about it", he added.
He advised the students to concentrate on their studies and it is not necessary to become scientists by following in his steps but choose subjects of their own choice.
Dr. Qadeer stressed the parents to educate their children according to their choice and he educated his children according to their choice.
He said good education is not being given to our students due to which they fall in to the hands of terrorists and create law and order situation in the country.
He urged the government to make arrangements for imparting religious education to students throughout the country especially in FATA along with English and Mathematics, it is important to make them technical.

Ruling on committing suicide on committing suicideide because of depression.

What is the ruling on committing suicide in the case of severe depression in which the sick person is not aware of the consequences of what he does? Will Allaah forgive him for this action?Â
Is it possible that the suffering that the sick person goes through because of this disease is an expiation for his sins?.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

Suicide is a major sin, and the one who does that is faced with a warning of eternity in the Fire of Hell, where Allaah will punish him with the means that he used to commit suicide. It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever throws himself down from a mountain and kills himself will be throwing himself down in the Fire of Hell for ever and ever. Whoever drinks poison and kills himself will be sipping it in the Fire of Hell for ever and ever. Whoever kills himself with a piece of iron will have that iron in his hand, thrusting it into his belly in the Fire of Hell for ever and ever.� Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5442) and Muslim (109),
It was narrated from Thaabit ibn Dahhaak (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever kills himself with something will be punished with it on the Day of Resurrection.� Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5700) and Muslim (110).
It was narrated that Jundub ibn ‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him) said: “A man among those who came before you was wounded. He panicked and took a knife and cut his hand, and the bleeding did not stop until he died. Allaah, may He be glorified and exalted, said: ‘My slave hastened his death; I have forbidden Paradise to him.� Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3276) and Muslim (113).
The believer has to be patient and to seek the help of Allaah, may He be exalted, and understand that no matter what hardship befalls him in this world -- no matter how severe it is -- the punishment of the Hereafter is worse than it. It is not acceptable according to anyone who is of right mind to run away from the heat of the desert and throw himself into the fire. How can he flee from temporary hardship and difficulty -- which inevitably will come to an end -- to an eternal punishment which has no end?
The Muslim should ponder and realise that he is not the only one in this world who is affected by calamity and hardship. Calamities befell the greatest of mankind, namely the Prophets, Messengers and the righteous. They also befell the worst of mankind, namely the disbelievers and atheists.
Calamity is part of the natural order of things and hardly anyone is safe from it.
If the believer handles it well and is patient, and it becomes a means that makes him turn back to Allaah and strive hard in worship and righteous deeds, then the calamity will have been good for him and will be expiation for his sins, and perhaps he will meet Allaah with no burden of sin.
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him) said: “No pain, hardship, sickness or grief befalls a believer, not even worry that befalls him, but some of his bad deeds will be expiated.� Narrated by al-Bukhaari (5642) and Muslim (2573).
Al-Tirmidhi (2399) narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (blessings and peace of Allaah be upon him) said: “Calamities will continue to befall believing men and women in themselves, their children and their wealth, until they meet Allaah with no burden of sin.� Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth al-Saheehah (2280).

And Allaah knows best.
Reference by:http://www.islamonline.com/news/articles/

Yusuf Islam Unites Muslims, West

LOS ANGELES — Renowned British Muslim singer Yusuf Islam sees his music and songs can be a bridge between the Muslims world and the West. "I think I've been given a position and place in this world which is quite unique," Islam told CNN on Monday, May 18.
"The fact that I'm a Westerner by birth and I'm a Muslim at the same time -- and living in this time where there seems to be such a gravitational split in polarities -- there need to be bridges.
"I think music is one of the best ways to bridge all those gaps."
Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, performed his first concert in Los Angeles last week, his first in the United States in 33 years.
Playing new and old songs for over an hour, the 60-year-old musician has delighted a star-studded audience.
"You don't understand," teary-eyed US singer and songwriter Michelle Branch said.

"I learned how to play guitar with the Cat Stevens songbook!"
Yusuf Islam reverted to Islam in 1977 and has since become a leading voice in Britain's two million Muslims.
His UN-registered charity, Small Kindness, provides humanitarian relief, through direct aid as well as social and educational programs, to orphans and families in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and other regions of the world.
In 2003, Islam was awarded the "World Social Award" for his humanitarian relief work.
In November 2004, he was honored with the "Man for Peace" award by a committee of Nobel peace laureates.
Prejudiced
Islam lamented that the Islamic faith is tarnished in Western media.
"I used to be prejudiced -- as prejudiced as anyone about Islam," he said.
The prominent singer recalled the moment when he decided to revert to Islam at the height of his fame.
" I was given the opportunity of reading the actual source, the Quran itself, without anybody forcing me or looking over my shoulder and saying, "What do you think?" It was just me in my space.
"The more I read the Quran, the more I realized that it was like an incredible matrix of connection with Christianity and Judaism," he said.
"I mean Jesus, Moses, the religion of Abraham in this book! And I said, "Wow, how come I didn't know this before?" It was kind of like a secret.
"So that was kind of my discovery, and a lot of people, I don't think, have gone through that process because they've seen Islam as a headline -- and you never learn anything about a headline. Because headlines, you know -- people make things up, to be honest."
Under the former Bush administration, Islam was denied access to the US and his name was put on a no-fly list.
"I felt chosen! I felt suddenly, I was given a halo. "This guy stands for peace, and they won't let him in.
"It was really kind of a joke, in a way, because the person I am and the kind of things they were kind of insinuating by putting me on this list with other people who were very dangerous."
But the situation took a new turn under the US administration of Barack Obama.
"I'm here now (in the United States), so things are kind of working themselves out. But there's a new administration, a new president, and it's a great new day."
Reference by:http://islamonline.com/news/articles

Muslim scholars from the main two schools of thoughts in Pakistan stand divided on the ongoing military offensive in the restive Swat valley

"Military operations are not the solution of any problem," Hafiz Hussein Ahmed, deputy secretary-general of the Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI), which belongs to the Deobandi school of thought, told IslamOnlin.
Jets and helicopters bombarded on Monday, May 18, targets in Swat, once a popular tourist destination, as the deadly offensive against Taliban entered its fourth week.
The military says its troops are closing in on Mingora, the capital of Swat and a Taliban stronghold.
Authorities say more than 1,000 militants and at least 46 soldiers have been killed in the onslaught launched in late April against Lower Dir, Buner and Swat districts.
IslamOnline in Swat (Special Folder) The military says up to 15,000 troops were taking on about 4,000 well-armed fighters. For scholars from the Deobandi school, who mainly follow Abu Hanifa Madhab, both Taliban and the government are responsible for the ongoing bloodshed.
"You resolve the issues through talks, rather than a military operation or a war," insists Ahmed.
"The prime minister is saying that military action is not the solution of the problem, and there must be some political arrangements," he said, referring to Yousaf Raza Gilani’s recent briefing on the operation in the parliament.

"We are saying the same thing."
The UN refugee agency said more than 1.1 million people have fled the fighting and registered with authorities since May 2.

They join another 500,000 people who fled fighting between government forces and Taliban last year.

Right
Ahmed, the JUI deputy chief, believes the Swat offensive is a direct outcome of President Asif Zardari’s recent visit to Washington. "This all was pre-planned and had to occur in any case because it suits America to bring Pakistanis against each other," he argues.

"The US aid always needs blood in return. And that blood is being shed in Swat."

The government ordered the offensive under mounting US pressure after Taliban took up positions in Buner, just 100 kilometers from Islamabad, in what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described as "an existential threat" to Pakistan.

But scholars from the Brelvi school of thought, who mainly follow Hanafi Madhab, believe that the government is doing the right thing by taking on the militants.

"The army… is acting against those who have been masquerading themselves as exponents of Jihad and Islam," Sahibzada Haji Fazal Karim, head of the Jamiat Ulema Pakistan (JUP), which is affiliated with the Barelvi school, told IOL.

"They are enemies of state, and it is obligatory on the state to act against them with full force."

Several religious groups belonging to Brelvi have formed the Save Pakistan alliance to launch a countrywide campaign against Taliban.

"We do not accept any interpretation of Shari`ah under which the killing of civilians is allowed," insisted Karim.

Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, chairman of the Moon Sighting Committee and a prominent Barelvi scholar, agrees.
Reference by:http://islamonline.com/news/articles

Protests in Kashmir over atrocities against Sikhs in Pakistan

Poonch (J-K), May 15 : Hundreds of Sikh, Hindu and Muslim devotees took out a protest march in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district against the excesses of the Taliban in Pakistan and urged the international community to take note of it.

Holding placards and raising slogans against Taliban, the protesters hit the streets and blocked traffic near Gurdwara Singh Sabha.

"A protest was taken out by the members and leaders of all religious communities here against the barbaric acts of Taliban in Swat valley. All have condemned the atrocities, " said Narendra Singh, President, Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee.

The protestors said the Indian government along with the international community should view the situation as a serious infringement on human rights by the Taliban.

Thousands of people, including many from the minority Sikh community, have fled Pakistan's Swat Valley, as government troops battle Taliban fighters after a February peace pact to end violence in the valley collapsed.

Indian Sikhs say the government in Pakistan was doing little to protect the lives of Sikhs.

Reportedly, the Taliban outfits demolished at least 11 houses belonging to the Sikh community in the Orakzai Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in Pakistan after they refused to pay 'Jazia'.

'Jazia' was a tax imposed on non-Muslims for their protection that prevailed during the Mughal era.
Reference by:http://story.malaysiasun.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/b8de8e630faf3631/id/501690/cs/1/

NC: Duke Opens Center for Muslim Community

More than 100 faculty, staff, students and members of the Muslim community from Duke and the Triangle gathered Thursday for the official opening of a Muslim Life center at Duke.

For Duke's Muslim Chaplain Abdullah Antepli, the gray clapboard house at 406 Swift Ave. represents "one of the most happy, joyous moments of my life ... a dream come true."

Duke University law student Mazen Alhroob led the Islamic call to prayer, or adhan. Then, following a brief reading from the Koran, several Duke officials spoke to the crowd about the significance of the occasion.

Both President Richard Brodhead and Duke Chapel Dean Sam Wells said a strong Muslim community on campus was essential for bringing out the best of Duke.

"We are ambitious and we want to be the best we can be," Wells said. "We can't be the best without each other."

Fatemah Ahmad, a senior at Duke and co-president of the Muslim Students Association, expressed gratitude at the university's commitment to and support for the campus Muslim community. She and Antepli emphasized the center is open and welcoming to everyone.

"The easiest way to show you what we mean to do with this space is for you to come in and participate -- hang out, drink tea, read books, or study," she said. "The light is always on and a pot of tea is always brewing."
Rference by:http://islamonline.com/news/articles/

Pakistan Targets Taliban Swat Leadership

ISLAMABAD – With local Taliban fighters in troubled Swat putting up a tough fight, the Pakistani army is targeting their top leadership, especially their commander Maulana Maulvi Fazlullah, to break their nerve. "Our main focus is to neutralize the Taliban leadership, including Fazlullah, who have been commanding militant groups in different parts of Swat, Boner and Dir districts," a senior army official involved in the ongoing military operations told IslamOnline on Tuesday, May 12, requesting anonymity.

Commandos from the army’s elite Special Services Group (SSG) were airlifted to Peochar, the stronghold of Fazlullah and his Tehrik-e-Taliban Swat (TTS) some 60 kilometers from Mingora, the capital of Swat.

"We have concrete information that he is commanding the militants from Peochar," said the army official.
Reference by:http://islamonline.com/news/articles/


IslamOnline in Swat (Special Folder)

"Commandos have been airlifted to Peochar via army helicopters and are trying to flush him out." Maulana Fazlullah, locally known as Maulana Radio because of his FM radio station, has been leading a two-year uprising that has devastated the area.

His TTS is a break-away faction of the non-violent Tehrik Nifaz-e-Shari’ah Mohammadi (TNSM) led by Maulana Sufi Mohammad, his father-in-law.

Other key Taliban commanders targeted by the army commandos are Muslim Khan, Mufti Shahid, Maulana Khalil, Ibn-e-Ameen, Maulana Shah Dauran and Qari Jabbar.

"They will also be targeted in order to break the nerves of militants, who have been putting a tough resistance in respective areas," said the army official.

"The army leadership is sure that if six to eight main Taliban leaders are neutralized - either captured or killed - a majority of militants will either surrenders or run away."

The army has been conducting a punishing offensive against militants in Malakand division, a conglomerate of eight districts including Swat, Dir and Boner.

The military said last week that around 12,000-15,000 security forces were operating against 4,000 well-armed Taliban fighters.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik claims that around 700 militants have been killed so far.

Tough Task


The army official declines to give a timeframe for the end of the ongoing operations. "In these kinds of operations, no deadline can be given. It may last for weeks, or months, but we will try our level best to accomplish the task as soon as possible," he said.

"That is why we are trying to neutralize their leadership to bring the ongoing operation to an end as soon as possible.

But defense and security analysts believe that liquidating the local Taliban leadership is not a walk in the park.

"This will be a very difficult task," Major General rtd Jamshed Ayaz, a senior defense and security analyst, told IOL.

"These types of people do not sit at one place. They camouflage themselves among the masses and use them as human shield. It is very hard to differentiate them."

Ayaz, who was commissioned in the army in 1965 and served in various capacities till 2001, believes intelligence can make the task much easier.

"Therefore, I emphasize on intelligence, both human and technical. The most difficult step in this process will be their precise location," he explains.

"If the army, with the help of an active intelligence, succeeds to locate them, then the task will turn out to easier."

The expert agrees that finishing off the main Taliban leaders will be a turning point.

"This is a uniformed formula that if the leadership is eliminated, the nerves of the troops are broken. That is especially true in the case of such militias who do not act as a regular force."

He contends that with such militias, personalities are very important as they keep their followers attached and united thanks to their personal charisma.

"But once these personalities are de-motivated or eliminated, their followers’ nerves are shattered, and they do not stay united and firm.

"The elimination of leadership will be disastrous for them."

BBC names first Muslim head of religious programmes

LONDON (AFP) - The BBC has appointed its first Muslim head of religious programming, in a move likely to further raise concerns within the Church of England that Christian views were being sidelined.
Aaqil Ahmed will join the state-funded broadcaster from privately run Channel 4 television and take up a new joint role of Head of Religion and Ethics and Commissioning Editor for Religion TV, the BBC announced Monday.


Ahmed commissioned programmes examining both Christianity and Islam for Channel 4, as well as the BAFTA-winning documentary "Saving Africa's Witch Children" about children in poor parts of Nigeria being blamed for witchcraft.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, the leader of the world's Anglicans, was reported last month to have told BBC Director-General Mark Thompson that he feared the "Christian voice" was being marginalised.


A spokesman for the archbishop declined to comment on Ahmed's appointment.

But another senior cleric, the Bishop of Manchester, Nigel McCulloch, said the church would closely monitor the BBC's religious output under its new chief.


"Aaqil Ahmed comes to the post with a good reputation. At a time when the BBC's coverage of religion caused some disquiet, the Church of England will be watching how the future of religion and ethics develops," he told the Guardian.

It is only the second time in the BBC's 87-year history that a non-Christian has held the position. Alan Bookbinder, an agnostic, filled the role from 2001 to 2006.


The BBC also appointed a separate head of religion radio, Christine Morgan.
Reference by:http://ca.news.yahoo.com

For American Muslims, the plight of Al-Quds (occupied East Jerusalem) under the Israeli occupation is ingrained in their hearts and minds

It’s really important; it’s deep in the heart of every Muslim," Imam Mahdi Bray, Executive Director of the Muslim American Society (MAS) Freedom, told IslamOnline.net.

"I want to go to Al-Aqsa but I can’t. The people who are right in the region are facing severe difficulties."

Israel captured and occupied Al-Quds in the six-day 1967 war, then annexed it in a move not recognized by the world community or UN resolutions.

The city is home to Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest shrine, and represents the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

"I think the majority of Muslims in the US are aware of the importance of Al-Quds from religious, cultural and historical aspects," says Mazen Hasan, a physician.

"We're very much aware and care about Al-Quds," agrees Dr. Amin Mahmoud, an Egyptian American.

"Historically the issue of Al Quds is very important to all Muslims.

"Add to the above the rights of the owner of the city who was removed out in 1948, and many can’t even go and visit their own families right now."

Since its occupation, Israel has adopted a series of oppressive measures to force the Palestinians out of Al-Quds, including systematic demolition of their homes.

It has also left no stone unturned in trying to judaize the holy city, also home to some of the holiest Christian worship places, including the ancient Jerusalem Church and Greek Orthodox Church.

Do Something

Dr. Mahmoud says that despite of Al-Quds’ importance for US Muslims, the community is not doing enough to support the holy city’s cause.

"I think we need to do more than what we doing now," admits Mahmoud, the coordinator of the Alliance of Egyptian Americans’ Mid Atlantic Chapter.

"We should increase our effort to educate others and hold more events to let people join us to try to help save the city."

Ibrahim Ramey, MAS Freedom civil and human rights director, advises Muslims to organize awareness programs for their non-Muslim counterparts to talk about Al-Quds issues.

"We have to present the issue in the Congress, universities and national organizations," he added.

"But most important is that the issue becomes in the media, so that people can have access to information and know the argument of the Palestinian people."

Imam Bray believes Muslims should focus on one particular argument that would appeal to their non-Muslim compatriots.

"I think the American people, regardless of their religion, are very much involved in religion. So our argument should be for freedom of religion," he explains.

"Freedom of worship is touchstone in American principles. Therefore, we must let people know that the holy sites are under siege."

Palestinians, both Muslims and Christians alike, are denied access to their holy sites particularly in the holy city of Al-Quds.

"I would say, if the US really wants to improve its image in the Muslim world as a government, practice what you preach," says Bray.

Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), also supports lobbying the administration on the issue of Al-Quds.

"Anti-American forces use our nation's pro-Israel bias as a recruiting tool," he warned.

"If America has a balanced policy and leads the way to a just and lasting peace in the region we can undermine this tool."
Reference by:http://islamonline.com/news/articles

Women and Islam

Does Islam treat women better or worse than other religions do? Are women better off under Islam than under Western culture? These are important questions not only for women's history, but for understanding the news today. Each of the books included has its own biases -- but that's helpful because you need to read and understand several perspectives to make your own truly informed judgments.by Fatima Mernissi, translator Mary Jo Lakeland, reprint 1992. Subtitle: A Feminist Interpretation of Women's Rights in Islam. A Moroccan, Muslim and sociology professor carefully unpacks Qu'ranic and hadith texts. By rooting her feminist views in the tradition and showing how the male elite uses political and economic power to oppress women, she is able to argue for change rooted in Islam itself..
Reference by:womenshistory.about.com

Frightened residents flee Swat

MINGORA, Pakistan: Tens of thousands of civilians, many on foot or donkey carts, took advantage of a brief relaxation in curfew to flee Pakistan’s embattled Swat Valley yesterday, while the army said it had killed 400 to 500 militants in its battle against the Taleban.

The hemorrhaging of residents from a scenic valley that once attracted hordes of tourists threatened to greatly exacerbate an existing internal refugee crisis for a nuclear-armed nation already facing economic, political and other woes.

But in an interview aired yesterday, President Asif Ali Zardari strongly rejected the notion that his country might collapse and called for international efforts to fight extremism.

“Is the state of Pakistan going to collapse?” Zardari asked rhetorically on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program. “No. We are 180 million people. There the population is much, much more than the insurgents are.”

The president was responding to assessments by some US military analysts, who had raised the possibility of a collapse of the Pakistani state because of the Taleban insurgency.

The army offensive has garnered praise from the US, which wants Pakistan to root out havens on its soil where Taleban militants can plan attacks on American and NATO forces across the border in Afghanistan.

As they left Swat’s main town of Mingora, some residents cursed the situation and condemned the Taleban, while others blamed Pakistani leaders for bowing to the West. “Show our picture to your master America and get money from him,” some taunted.

The desperate Swat residents were trying to leave any way they could — on motorbikes, animal-pulled carts, rickshaws or foot. A ban on civilian vehicles entering the valley complicated the exodus for those without cars. Some chided a reporter for slowing them down by asking questions.

“We are going out only with our clothes and a few things to eat on the long journey,” said Rehmat Alam, a 40-year-old medical technician walking out of Mingora with 18 other relatives
Reference by:www.islamic-world.net

King Abdullah of Jordan's ultimatum: peace now or it’s war next year

merica is putting the final touches to a hugely ambitious peace plan for the Middle East, aimed at ending more than 60 years of conflict between Israel and the Arabs, according to Jordan’s King Abdullah, who is helping to bring the parties together.

The Obama Administration is pushing for a comprehensive peace agreement that would include settling Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians and its territorial disputes with Syria and Lebanon, King Abdullah II told The Times. Failure to reach agreement at this critical juncture would draw the world into a new Middle East war next year. “If we delay our peace negotiations, then there is going to be another conflict between Arabs or Muslims and Israel in the next 12-18 months,” the King said.

Details of the plan are likely to be thrashed out in a series of diplomatic moves this month. Chief among them is President Obama’s meeting with Binyamin Netanyahu, the right-wing Israeli Prime Minister, in Washington a week today. The initiative could form the centrepiece for Mr Obama’s much-anticipated address to the Muslim world in Cairo on June 4. A peace conference could then take place involving all the parties as early as July or August. Such an ambitious project has not been attempted since 1991, when George Bush senior’s Administration assembled all the parties for a peace conference in Madrid.

“What we are talking about is not Israelis and Palestinians sitting at the table, but Israelis sitting with Palestinians, Israelis sitting with Syrians, Israelis sitting with Lebanese,” said the King, who hatched the plan with Mr Obama in Washington last month. He added that, if Mr Obama did not make good his promise for peace, then his credibility would evaporate overnight.

The Israeli Government has so far rejected any moves that would lead to a two-state solution, the creation of a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel, but the King insisted that what was being proposed was a “57-state solution”, whereby the Arab and entire Muslim world would recognise the Jewish state as part of the deal.

“We are offering a third of the world to meet them with open arms,” said the King. “The future is not the Jordan river or the Golan Heights or the Sinai, the future is Morocco in the Atlantic and Indonesia in the Pacific. That is the prize.”

As an incentive to Israel to freeze the building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, a key step in any peace process, Arab parties may offer incentives, such as the right for El Al, the Israeli airline, to fly over Arab air space and visas for Israeli tourists to Arab states. Mr Netanyahu told the Israeli Cabinet yesterday, however, that he had no intention of leaving the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria in 1967.

Syria, which only last week was accused by Washington of being a state sponsor of terrorism, presents a huge challenge. The King, who is visiting Damascus today, insisted that the Syrians could be brought in from the cold.
Reference by:www.islamic-world.ne

Best Attitude for Believing Women

There once was a woman named Jane,
she was very sweet and really quite sane.
People laughed at her innocence and made fun without shame,
some even called her Plain Jane.
Jane learned that "Allah" was really God's Name,
And all of the prophets had a message - the same.
She learned "Islam" means worship God in peace and surrender,
And Muhammad is the messenger for humans and jinn regardless of gender.
She said the shahadah on the very same day,
and became a Muslimah in every possible way.
She now understands about a Muslimah's duty
and is happy to wear her hijab - the covering for her beauty
Reference by www.islamnewsroom.com

Saudis Angered by Europe Visa Hassles

RIYADH -- Saudi Arabia has accused France, Germany and Italy of discrimination over unreasonable delays in granting its nationals travel visas.

"The visas take longer than it should be," Saudi Foreign Ministry spokesman Osama Nugali told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Tuesday, May 5.

Saudi applicants are forced to submit more documentation like return tickets, bank statements and insurance.

They also have to wait much longer than citizens of neighboring countries for the Schengen visa which allows visitors to travel freely through 15 countries with a visa from a single embassy.

"We want to be treated as the other Gulf countries are," insists Nugali.

Saudis have particular problem with the French, German and Italian embassies, which issue the bulk of Schengen visas.

The French embassy in Riyadh, in particular, has been accused of mistreating Saudi applicants, with some calling for a boycott of France and its businesses.

Dawood al-Shirian, a well-known columnist, says many well-placed Saudi businessmen and officials have voiced their frustration.

"These are not poor people who will stay in Europe for work," he insists.

"These are people who have businesses and houses there. People who go stay in a five-star hotel, people who spend thousands of euros, people who go to Germany for medical reasons."

Swedish Ambassador Jan Thesleff stressed in April that attracting Saudi tourists to his country is a major priority.

Malaysia is targeting 90,000 arrivals from Saudi Arabia this year, compared to 74,632 last year. Saudis do not need visa to Malaysia.

Uzbekistan, which welcomed more than two million tourists last year, is hoping to attract 100,000 Saudi tourists this year.

A new survey found that Saudi tourists were among the biggest spenders per transaction in Canada.
Reference by www.islamonline.net